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  • Martin Luther King Day and that Statue at Back Bay

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1457046  by TomNelligan
 
For the benefit of those who are not familiar with Boston's Back Bay Station, this statue honors A. Philip Randolph, who founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925. The location was selected because Boston's South End neighborhood, which begins a couple blocks from here, was the home of many Pullman porters and other African-American railroad employees in the early 20th century.
 #1458460  by Arlington
 
JPoland wrote:Instresting since Amtrak killed the Sleeping Car Porters Union which was a black run and dominated union
He's also got a statue at Washington Union Station:
Image

It does not strike me as fair to say that Amtrak killed what Randolph built. 80% of "the killing" of the union happened between the 1940s and 1960s as the number of porters working runs fell from a high of 15,000 to 3,000 in that time.

I suspect that somewhere near 1969 (When Pullman turned things over to the railroads) and probably before A-day, membership could have already been down to 2,000 or even 1,500...90% gone before Amtrak even takes full possession of all sleepers (as from Southern RR).

1940s 15,000 BSCP members
1960s 3,000 BSCP members
1969 Pullman turns sleeper biz over to railroads
1978 (merger into TCU)
1984 Reorg of TCU's "Amtrak Division" having 1500 total on-board services